The Fallen Heroine
by IamDragonFury
Summary: A witch with a traumatic, devastating past, goes on a rampage through the Mushroom Kingdom, with one goal on her mind...kill all heroes and villains, and torture all those who choose a specific alignment. Mario must avoid being killed, long enough to find the story behind the grievously troubled new enemy's rage toward good and evil and put an end to her fury.
1. Chapter 1

The Fallen Heroine

Chapter 1

Fingers crossed.

* * *

A tempestuous night in the Mushroom Kingdom, everyone was inside, staying clear of the violent weather.

There was but one being not seeking shelter from the roaring storm, walking through it as if it were inviting, for unbeknownst to the inhabitants of the area, she was what brought the weather with her. The weather meant to signify her dark and tortured soul and congealed heart.

The hooded mystery maiden was on a mission, she was looking for particular kinds of people, kinds that she could not allow to live.

Her journey eventually led her to a large fortress, sporting a flag designed with a black silhouette of a monster's face. The young woman did not knock on the door, she merely let herself in by punching the door, blowing it up with a blast of manually produced thunder. She then walked inside until she reached another door, a large, red, metal door.

Behind the door, the master of the castle, Bowser, king of the Koopas, was asleep. Only to be awoken by a near-deafening explosion, indicating an intruder.

Bowser jumped down from his leather pallet, high on his stone pillar, in a defensive stance.

"Who's in my castle!?" he roared, "Mario, is that you!? I have done nothing wrong...recently!"

The intruder then made herself know, the hooded girl approached Bowser and pulled off her hood. Her skin was a very light lavender color and her hair was a deep shade of indigo, which fell around her youthful face, half hiding her piercing, wine-red eyes.

With her, the girl seemed to bring an icy chill, that left the Koopa King wary.

"Wh-Who are you?" Bowser growled tensely.

"I am Be'liqa," the girl said emotionlessly, with a dispassionate facial expression, "that's all you need to know."

The girl called Be'liqa slowly advanced upon the powerful Koopa, looking at him like he was but a mere insect. The way the girl showed no fear, no emotion of any kind toward him as she got closer, made Bowser become increasingly anxious. Her frame was similar to that of Rosalina, yet her ominous aura was enough to leave to the Koopa King on edge.

Bowser was so unnerved, he had forgotten that he had immense strength, along with the power to breathe fire.

"What do you want from me?" he questioned, trying to mask his anxiety with irritation.

"Bowser," Be'liqa spoke, "you don't know me, but I know you. What you are."

The tone in her voice alone left the mighty Bowser petrified where he stood.

"But before I get down to business," the mysterious girl voiced, "you tell me, where can I find this one called...Mario?"

Bowser struggled to respond, Be'liqa's eyes having almost a Medusa-like effect on him.

"Speak, monster!" Be'liqa snapped hostily.

"M-Mushroom K-Kingdom," Bowser uttered tensely, "he-he has a house, but he s-spends more time a-around the c-castle nowadays."

Be'liqa looked down and thought about it.

"Castle," she muttered, "fine."

Bowser had no idea what possessed him to respond, but he somehow found the tongue.

"Why?" he asked hesitantly.

Be'liqa looked up again with her unreadable gaze.

"He's the hero, so I've heard," the girl said, "therefore, I must slay him."

Bowser looked at her strangely.

"What?" he responded, "But, you can't. That's my enemy to kill."

"Oh, don't worry," Be'liqa said, "you won't have to worry about it."

"Huh?" was the response Bowser could give.

"From what I hear, you are the villain around these parts," Be'liqa voiced, "which means...I must slay you as well." She pulled from a scabbard hidden beneath her black-blue cloak a long, serrated sword.

Be'liqa got closer to Bowser, holding up her sword.

Bowser started backing away, only to remember, too late, that he could breathe fire. As he prepared to exhale flames at his on coming attacker, he stumbled backwards and got stuck on his back, flailing helplessly, trying roll back over.

Be'liqa climbed up on Bowser's midsection, holding her sword to his throat.

It was the first time Bowser was ready and willing to beg for his life.

"No, no," he pleaded, "please, spare me!"

"I've heard those words so many, many times," Be'liqa said aloofly, not looking the Koopa King in the eyes, "they'll do you no good."

She raised the sword, and looked upwards.

"First the villain," she said certainly, "then I'm coming for you hero."

With that, Be'liqa docily closed her eyes and plunged the sword downward, getting an audible choked gasp in return.

* * *

This may get dark at some points.

So, if you don't like that, you don't have to keep reading.


	2. Chapter 2

The Fallen Heroine

Chapter 2

Moving on.

* * *

Morning finally came, but the weather had not changed much in the Mushroom Kingdom, it was still raining hard, the wind was fierce, and thunder and lightning wracked the sky. Currently, some of the inhabitants were riding out the weather in Princess Peach's castle.

Mario Brothers, Mario and Luigi and the princesses Peach and Daisy, along with a few other friends were in one of Peach's sitting rooms.

"Look at the rain," Daisy said, "it seems to just get worse by the hour."

"And the wind sounds so strong." Peach stated.

"Even for this time of year it seems uncharacteristic." Mario said.

Luigi was standing by the window, curiously watching the intense downpour.

The strong lightning looked very off, as it was not the same color that lightning usually was.

"Red lightning is normal," Luigi voiced, "right?"

The window then started rattling against the wind.

"Hurry," Peach directed, "secure the latch."

Luigi quickly fastened the window's lock, and just as he did, the window shook so roughly, that had it not been secured, it would have burst open.

"Luigi," Mario offered, "you should probably get away from the window."

A powerful thundercrack made the green-clothed jump, urging him to run away from the window, back with the others. He resumed his place between Mario and Yoshi, rubbing his arms in response to the noticeable frigidity in the room.

"Even with the window closed," Luigi sighed, resisting the urge to shiver, "it feels so cold in here."

Yoshi nodded in agreement shuddering while huddling under a rug for warmth.

"It is pretty cold in here." Mario said.

"I'm sorry," Peach replied, "but the furnace is on as high as it can go."

Earlier, the furnace had managed to produce a relieving amount of warmth, but by now, the storm chill had begun to overpower it.

"How can you tell?" Daisy voiced, "I can hardly feel my toes."

She looked down at her feet, covered with the fuzziest, warmest orange socks she owned, which were hardly helping anymore.

"That's it," Daisy said, "Luigi, get over here."

Luigi heeded his fiance's request, and she put her arms around him tightly.

"Give me warmth." she stated.

He squeezed her tightly, trying to gain warmth in return as well.

"Something about this weather just isn't right," Mario said, "it started suddenly, and it just gets strong. Plus...yeah, that lightning does not look right."

"Maybe it's unnatural." Peach offered.

"Maybe," Mario replied, "I'm thinking it's gotta be magic."

"You suppose Bowser is up to something again?" Peach wondered.

"I wouldn't doubt that." Daisy said, still clutching Luigi.

The red-adorned plumber looked out the window.

"I suppose I better look into it before it gets any worse." he mused.

"I'll come with you." Luigi said, pulling away from Daisy.

"I would feel better if you stayed here." Mario advised, as another bolt of thunder shot through the sky.

"Please," Luigi begged, "you shouldn't go alone."

As he continued to beg, Mario finally broke down.

"Fine," Mario said submissively, "you can go to."

"You guys are really gonna go out in..." Peach responded tensely, "_that_?" The violent sky leaving her on edge.

"If it _is_ Bowser," Mario said, "we have to get to his castle and put an end to this."

Though she was against it, Peach knew she had no power to stop the heroes from doing their jobs.

"I know," Peach said solemnly, "just please, be careful."

"We'll be fine," Mario assured her, "come on, Luigi, let's go."

The younger twin followed suit and they made their way out of the castle; although, once out the door, they found out just how bad the storm really was. The heavy rain was a mix of could water and ice pellets, and the cold air was almost immobilizing. The castle moat was near full to flooding over.

"Ah, Mario," Luigi gasped, "it's_ so_ cold!"

"It's okay," Mario responded, trying to talk over the wind, "just keep up with me."

Then they started running in the direction of Bowser's castle.

* * *

After a long, harrowing trek, the brothers finally made it to Bowser's castle.

"Oh, yes," Mario sighed, "were finally here."

"Let's just get inside." Luigi shuddered.

After forcing the door open, they walked inside, but almost immediately, they could tell something was not right.

The castle was eerily quiet and dark, there was no sign of fire or booby traps. No sounds of rocks or pillars falling.

"This is overly ominous," Mario said, "even for Bowser."

As they walked through the castle, they found that all of the lava pits had solidified, the molten rock had been turned to stone. Ironically, it was the one time that crossing a pit of scorching lava would have been relieving.

"Wow," Luigi voiced, "how did that happen?"

"I don't know," Mario said, "just watch your step."

They started walking across the petrified lava until the reached Bowser's room.

Mario pounded on the door with his fist, which was still numb from the cold.

"Bowser!" he called.

There was no response of any kind.

"Bowser!" Mario called again.

Luigi then got his attention.

"Mario," he said, pointing at the ground, "look."

There was a red substance that was gushing from under the door.

"Is that...blood?" Luigi wondered.

Now completely thrown off, Mario tried to force the door open himself, only to have it fall to pieces.

The first thing they saw when the door was gone was the mutilated corpse of Kamek.

"What the..." Mario responded, then looked up and saw the extent of the scene, "oh, my holy sweet Lumas of Rosalina!"

Luigi screamed in shock.

Inside the room, they found Bowser, along with his Koopalings, brutally slaughtered. Blood was splattered all over the room from the floor to the ceiling, cascading down the walls, like crimson waterfalls.

The brothers looked on in utter alarm, and when Mario finally came to his senses, he decided to investigate.

First off, he approached the bloody corpse of Bowser, which was flat on his back. With a closer look, he found that Bowser's throat had been slashed nearly all the way through, and he had been stabbed close to one hundred times. Whomever or whatever committed the act wanted to make sure the Koopa King did not survive the attack.

They looked closely at the bodies of the Koopalings as well, they too had been ruthlessly stabbed, their throats cut deep.

The only one of Bowser's circle not amongst the slaughter, was Bowser's son, Bowser Jr.

They deduced that the youngest one had either escaped unharmed or was taken away by the attacker.

"Who did this?" Mario muttered, still in shock, "_What_ did this?

"Look at that." Luigi said, pointing the back wall.

On the wall was a message written in blood, which read:

_The Evil will be executed_

_The Good will be gutted_

_All will see what happens when you dare choose an alignment._

"Oh..." Mario said nervously, "Mama...Mia."

* * *

More to come.


	3. Chapter 3

The Fallen Heroine

Chapter 3

Moving on.

* * *

Peach, Daisy, and Yoshi were still in the Mushroom Castle, waiting for Mario and Luigi to return.

While Peach sat in a chair, Daisy was watching intently out the window.

"Eh, ehh, ehhh, " she said anxiously, "where are they? This is taking too long!"

"Everything will be fine," Peach replied, "just come away from the window."

Just as Daisy was about to turn away from the window, she looked outside and saw the brothers return to the castle.

"Oh!" she uttered, "They're back!"

The princesses ran down and met the hero plumbers at the door, they were both cold and wet from the rain.

"Oh," Peach sighed with relief, "thank goodness you're all right."

"What happened?" Daisy wondered, "Was it Bowser?"

Luigi shook his head tensely in response.

"No..." Mario informed them, "no, it was _not _Bowser."

The princesses could tell that their fiances were unnerved by something they must have seen.

"What...happened?" Peach asked.

"Well..." Mario answered, trying to gather his thoughts, "we got to the castle and we got inside..."

"Right from the beginning you could tell something wasn't right!" Luigi uttered.

"Okay, calm down." Mario told him.

"Sorry." the younger twin responded.

"Anyway," Mario continued, "we got there, and it was clear something was not right around there. So we went to the end of castle, to Bowser's room, and, well, when we got inside it, we found Kamek, Bowser, and his Koopalings...dead...murdered."

"Murdered?" Daisy responded.

"Are you sure it was murder?" Peach wondered.

"It looked like a slaughterhouse!" Luigi affirmed.

"Seriously," Mario said, "blood everywhere, all of them were brutally stabbed and cut at their throats."

"Sucks for them." Daisy stated.

"It would've taken someone pretty powerful to stab _Bowser _to death." Peach said.

"Yeah," Mario said, "but strangely, the only one that we didn't find there was Bowser Jr."

"And there was a message there..." Luigi added, "written in blood."

"Which said...?" Daisy replied.

"It read: _The Evil will be executed, the Good will be gutted, all will see what happens when you dare choose an alignment_." Luigi said.

The princesses thought about it.

"Okay," Daisy said, "so we know, whoever it was...is a psychopath."

"Well, that narrows it down." Peach replied dryly.

Just then, Yoshi started making noise, pointing out the window; they found that it had become fairly still outside, the storm having stopped.

"Hey," Peach voiced, "it stopped raining."

"That was kinda...sudden." Mario said warily.

Suddenly, the castle shook, as if struck by something big and powerful. The jolt caused everyone to fall over.

"Ah," Daisy groaned, "I knew something was coming, I knew!"

"_MARIO!_" a female voiced called from outside, "_HERO! I know you're in there!_"

Mario headed for the door.

"You're gonna go_ toward_ the menacing voice calling your name?" Luigi inquired.

"That's just how it works." Mario stated.

He then proceeded to run outside.

"Come before me," the voice said firmly, "_hero_!"

Mario ran over the bridge to the castle, and at the end of it stood the same witch that had visited Bowser.

Immediately, Mario picked up the frigid ambience around the ominous maiden.

"Who are you?" he questioned.

"I am Be'liqa," the witch responded, "you don't know me, Mario, but I know _you_. And you are on my "kill" list!"

A sudden gust of cold wind forced Mario to take a step back.

"Why?" the hero plumber wondered, "What have I done to cross you?"

"Personally," Be'liqa replied, "nothing, it's not about anything you've done, it's about who you are. I loathe your kind, and I will see to it that your kind completely exterminated."

Mario looked at her strangely.

"You mean..." he asked, "humans?"

Be'liqa rolled her eyes.

"No," she said spitefully, "not humans, _heroes_! I will destroy all heroes, villains, and anyone else who finds the nerve to pick a side!"

The way she talked, her chosen words, was enough to raise suspicion.

"It was you," Mario voiced, "_you_ killed Bowser, all of them."

"Correct you are." Be'liqa confirmed proudly.

The red-clad hero then realized that if the girl was capable of committing such a gruesome act, then there was no telling what else she could do.

"Well," Mario added, "what about Bowser Jr.? Did you kill him too?"

"No," the witch replied, "I have other plans for the little villain, soon enough, he'll see things the way I see them."

That somewhat answered the question as to the whereabouts of young Bowser Jr., but the question was now: if was not going to kill him, then what were her intentions?

"If you're not a hero pr a villain," Mario questioned, "then what exactly are you?"

Be'liqa scowled coldly.

"What _everyone _should be," she asserted, sounding as if she were resisting the urge to cry, "NEUTRAL! IMPARTIAL!_ UNALIGNED!_" A bolt of lightning struck the ground, triggered by her outburst.

This girl did not seem to make any sense, why is she so dedicated to neutrality? Why would she be so against people picking a specific alignment?

Even so, despite her menacing aura, Mario could see, as she stared icily st him, that behind her vicious façade was a tortured, anguished soul, wrought with sorrow and grief. He could tell that young witch was obviously not evil, she was troubled, perhaps even tragic.

"People will see," Be'liqa said, breathing heavily for some reason, "nothing good comes from...picking a side, it only leads to trouble."

Even in her voice, her words, Be'liqa hinted a deep-seated motive behind her miserable character. Feeling just how strong the young woman's torment was, along with rising curiosity about her background causing it, Mario could feel nothing but pity for her. His hero instinct made him not want to fight her, but instead help her without the use violence or force.

Just then, Be'liqa pulled her sword from its sheath, ready to attack.

"Wait!" Mario spoke up quickly.

Be'liqa surprisingly paused.

"I think we could work something out without having to fight," Mario offered, "perhaps I could help you...with your mission."

The young witch looked at Mario warily.

"I'm listening." she said.

"I am pretty popular around her, well-known and respected," Mario explained, "if you'll let me, perhaps I could convince everyone to renounce their alignments."

Be'liqa looked unsure.

"You wouldn't have to get your sword dirtier," Mario said, "all I need is a little time."

"How long?" the witch asked.

"At most," the hero replied, "five days, in that time I will do my best to convince everyone to abandon their alignments."

"And if you can't?" Be'liqa questioned.

"Then you may kill me and continue on doing it your way." Mario sighed.

Be'liqa turned away and thought about it.

"Should I do it?" she whispered, as if asking her own superego for permission.

Mario waited with quiet anticipation for the girl to respond.

Be'liqa turned around.

"I accept," Be'liqa said, "but I will be watching you. If I sense that you are doing anything other than what you promised, I will slice you faster than you can say "blood", got it?"

"Of course." Mario replied.

He held out his hand; Be'liqa looked at the hero's hand as if it were something foreign. She hesitantly reached out and grabbed the hero's hand which, even in her harrowing weather, felt so warm, compared to her piercingly freezing hand. How long had it been since she had felt another person's touch?

"So then," Be'liqa stated, "five days."

"Yes." Mario said.

But of course, Mario's ulterior motive was different than what he actually promised. His true intentions were to find out more about Be'liqa and what drove her to such insanity, and possibly even find a way to make it go away. He just hoped that five days would be enough time to do so.

* * *

More to come.

I certainly hope people are reading/liking this.


	4. Chapter 4

The Fallen Heroine

Chapter 4

Continuing on.

* * *

After the confrontation with Be'liqa, as soon as the young witch left, she seemed to take much the bad weather with her. Though the rain and thunder and lightning was gone, it was still cloudy, cold, and windy, possibly a sign of the witch's doubt or distrust.

Mario ran back into the castle, the others in foyer waiting for him.

"What happened?" Peach asked.

"Why is it still cold!?" Luigi added, though it was more of a complaint than a question.

Mario really did not want everyone to get involved, fearing that they would be easy targets for Be'liqa if she knew they were on his side.

"I have a lot to do over the next five days," he explained, "and I need everyone to just...stay put."

"But why?" Daisy asked impatiently.

"Psycho danger, and that's all I'll say." Mario stated.

"Do you want me to help?" Luigi asked.

"Nooo," Mario said, "no, no, no, just stay with the princesses."

Luigi nodded.

"Okay," he said, "I wanna, but I cannot feel my hands or feet at the moment, so I won't argue with you."

"Great," Mario replied, "so, yeah, gonna be busy, five days, danger, everyone just stay here."

Then he left.

"I wonder what he meant by "psycho danger"." Peach said.

"Involved or not," Daisy voiced, "we'll find out eventually."

* * *

Mario travelled away from the castle, and began contemplating his next move. He still had to figure out how he was going to find out more about Be'liqa without her catching on.

"If I'm going to do this," he mused, "I'm going to need help, help from someone who's been around for a long time, or someone who can see everything."

Mario looked up at the sky, two small orbs of lighting burst in the clouds, followed by a deep roll of thunder, which he interpreted as Be'liqa saying, "I'm watching you.".

From then on, he decided to keep from looking up as much as possible. Even if it was not an effective choice, it would be less distracting.

Mario just kept on walking, trying to think of what to do next.

Suddenly the wind picked up; as the red-adorned plumber braced himself against the heavy wind, he took this as Be'liqa's way of rushing him. This idea was confirmed when Mario heard the witch's voice in the air hiss, "Hurry, _hero_!"

"What now!?" the plumber hero uttered aloud.

Just then a bright light appeared before him, which seemed to provide a bit of a shield against the cold wind.

The bringer of the light turned out to be the angelic Rosalina, accompanied by three Lumas.

"Greetings, hero." She said sincerely, as opposed to Be'liqa's cold, sarcastic tone.

Mario ran up to her.

"Oy, Rosalina, you've never picked a more perfect time to show up." Mario expressed with relief.

Rosalina looked confused, and Mario then realized he was clutching her dress.

"Sorry." he said meekly, releasing his hold on her light-blue dress.

"I had a strong feeling I was needed here." the cosmic princess stated.

"Yes, yes," Mario said, "very much so."

He then looked around, remembering that Be'liqa would most likely be listening.

"Um..." Mario voiced awkwardly, "have you thought your alignment recently?"

"What?" Rosalina replied, put off by his odd question.

"You know," Mario added, looking around, "have you ever thought about just being neither good nor bad, hero nor villain?'

Rosalina was still confused, but she could tell a deeper issue laid within.

"Perhaps we should speak somewhere else?" she offered.

"Yes," Mario said trying to restrain his anxiety, "somewhere else, somewhere just a tad more private."

With that, Rosalina used her power to teleport them to her observatory, where more Lumas waited.

Mario looked around, and saw that the place looked slightly different.

"Wow," he stated, "you've been renovating."

Rosalina put her hand on his head to get his attention.

"Speak," she urged, "what troubles you so much that my assistance is required?"

"Okay," Mario explained, "this girl, this witch, she just showed up bringing this awful storm with her. She slaughtered Bowser and his Koopalings, plus she made it very clear that she carried off Bowser Jr. She was gonna kill me, but I managed to calm her down a little by making a deal with her."

"What...kind of deal?" Rosalina asked warily.

"She wants to wipe out everyone with a specific alignment, good and evil, that is," Mario said, "I told her that if she gave me some time I would try to talk as many people as I could into renouncing their side, but in reality, I just really need to find out more about her, why she is the way she is, so I can stop her from continuing all this mayhem."

"This witch," Rosalina wondered, "does she have a name?"

"Her name is Be'liqa," Mario replied, "have you heard of her?"

"The name sounds a bit familiar," the cosmic princess said, "I'd have to look into it."

"Please do," Mario said, "I need all the help I can get."

"Well first," Rosalina said, "I'd like to witness this girl's actions, to see what must be dealt with."

She led his to the Observatory's library.

"A while back," Rosalina said, scanning the bookshelf, "I found a book that I had lost a long time ago, a book that can tell or show one whatever they want to know."

She pulled a large, black leather book off the shelf.

"It's called the "Infinite Tome"." Rosalina told him.

"What are you gonna ask it first?" Mario wondered, trying to get a better view of the book.

"First off," Rosalina said, "in order to know what to look for, I need to see the extent of this person's madness."

She opened the book.

"Infinite Tome," Rosalina inquired, "show me Be'liqa's most recent incriminating act."

Knowing what it was, Mario almost did not want to see.

At Rosalina's request the book brought up the gruesome scene of Be'liqa breaking into Bowser's castle and brutally murdering him and the Koopalings as they tried to stop her.

It started out bad enough, Be'liqa immobilizing the Koopa King and driving her sword into him repeatedly, before viciously slashing his throat.

Of course, it got worse, as they saw how Koopalings caught what was happening and tried to attack Be'liqa, but they did not stand a chance, between the witch's immense power and swift reflexes.

Horrified, Rosalina slammed the book shut.

"Okay," Rosalina said, trying to stay calm, "so I see this really_ isn't_ evil we're dealing with, this is pure insanity."

"But the question is," Mario voiced, "what spawned the insanity?"

"I will look into that," Rosalina replied, "meanwhile, you need to focus on protecting your own from this witch."

"Right," Mario sighed, "I just hope I can."

With that, Rosalina transported him back to Earth.

She then opened her book again.

"All right," she said, "Infinite Tome, show me what it was that made this Be'liqa so deranged."

* * *

Thank God for Snow Days.

I did not expect this chapter to get so long, it just happened.

Oh well, more to come.


	5. Chapter 5

The Fallen Heroine

Chapter 5

Still going.

* * *

While Mario was on his quest to find out more about Be'liqa and protect his own circle, said witch was brooding in her hide out, which were the remains of a castle. A castle she once called home, set in a ruined land long forgotten and forsaken by time.

Be'liqa was seated on an old throne, a throne that at one time she was preparing to occupy by law, but due to unspeakable tragedy, this never came to be. In its prime, the throne was a symbol of power in the once operative land, but in its present stated, it was nothing but a worn chair.

The young witch sat on the corroding throne, clutching the arm rests till her hands started to change color. She was currently lost in her scourging memories and raging thoughts. Blood curdling screams, innocent beings sobbing and begging for mercy, echoing in her mind as her memories came to her; the worst was the memories of what drove her to insanity, the tragic thoughts cutting so deeply into her battered brain she clutched the armrests of the thrones until they shattered in her grasp. a single tear rolled down the left side of her face.

Just then she heard a loud banging, which came from Bowser Jr., who was banging on the strange containment chamber he was in. Being unconscious at the time he was abducted, he had no idea where he was.

"Hey!" the koopa boy yelled, "Let me out! I want out!"

"Ugh, quiet down, kid." Be'liqa groaned.

"No!" Bowser Jr. shouted, "You can't just keep me in here! Sooner or later, someone will know I'm missing!"

"Whether they do or not," Be'liqa said coldly as she approached the containment chamber, "who is going to care? Who would look for a villain child? Other villains wouldn't care, and heroes would be happy, another evil contributor they don't have to deal with."

Bowser Jr. backed away.

"My family would've." he said solemnly, remembering what the witch did to his dad and the koopalings.

"Well they're gone," Be'liqa stated, "and they had it coming, this is what happens when you pick a side, you lose everything."

Bowser Jr. had never been so unhappy, enraged and horrified by what the witch had done to his family, while also nervous about what his fate would be.

"What are you going to do to me?" the young koopa asked.

"I'm going to make you see things my way." Be'liqa said cryptically.

She then reached out and squeezed the glass tube on the side of the chamber, pumping it full of her unaligned magic.

"In a matter of days," Be'liqa explained, "you won't care anymore."

Bowser Jr. cringed as the inside of his prison began to glow with power.

"In a matter of days...nobody will care about anyone or anything ever again." Be'liqa said as she walked away from the containment chamber.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rosalina was up in her library with her Infinite Tome.

"Okay, book," the cosmic princess requested, "show me what it was that drove this Be'liqa to such a sever state of insanity, what happened?"

Rosalina watched as the book began to display a scene most tragic; the display started out peaceful enough, showing the witch, Be'liqa in a younger stated, happy and in a grand state of mind, however it soon took a surprisingly dark turn. Going from a scene full of love and peace to chaos, carnage, and agony. It was so horrible, Rosalina slammed the book shut, not wanting to see how it ended.

"I expected gloom and despair," the princess shuddered, utterly horrified, "but this...this is just awful."

* * *

There, a new chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

The Fallen Heroine

Chapter 6

Still going.

* * *

While Be'liqa was hiding up in her lair, Mario was still running all over the Mushroom Kingdom, warning the Mushroom People, while also pretending to work for Be'liqa. He was not sure if Be'liqa was still watching or not, so he had to go about his way very cautiously. Many times had the hero dealt with evil and the corrupted, but he did not have much experience with dealing with someone so mentally unstable and so dangerously psychopathic.

Mario had just finished talking to two Mushroom People.

"You get what I said?" the plumber asked.

"Yes, Mario," one of them said, "we'll be "neutral" from now on."

Of course he was only telling them to act neutral to avoid the wrath of Be'liqa, really he was just stalling for time until Rosalina returned with new information.

Soon enough, Rosalina did return, her "Infinite Tome" in hand.

"Oh, Rosalina," Mario sighed in relief, "you're back, what did you find?"

"The situation is far more complicated than either of us expected." the cosmic princess said.

She opened the book, making it replay the scene she had just viewed for the hero. The scene revealing that the witch, Be'liqa was once benevolent princess named Libeqa and she herself was once a hero herself, a remarkable one at that, with a large family. She looked so normal in her younger years, Mario found it hard to believe that Libeqa and Be'liqa were the same person, however, as the scene moved further along, it took a dark turn.

The scene showed that over the course of Be'liqa's heroine career, her enemies became more and dangerous and persistent, to the point where they became such a threat, she actually had to start killing them to protect everyone she loved. Every time someone she loved got killed, she became more and more violent towards the evil, and shunned the good that showed mercy towards those she felt did not deserve it. Over time, the witch became unmerciful to anyone who did not agree with her, until one day, she got into an intense battle with an enemy who had his army attack her kingdom while she was busy fighting him. The battle lasted a whole day, ending in a stalemate; when the heroine and the villain parted ways, the girl discovered that while she had fought the main enemy, his army had destroyed her kingdom and slaughtered everyone, including her friends and her entire family.

Rosalina then shut the book.

"Well...that explains a lot." Mario stated, not sure how else to respond to what he just saw.

"There's nothing more dangerous than a traumatized psychopath, Mario," Rosalina said, "they don't think before they act, and you never know what they'll do before they do it."

Everything she said was true, there was no predicting the actions of the unpredictable.

"Well then..." Mario wondered, "what _do_ I do?"

"Watch yourself," Rosalina affirmed, "just stay alert in general and protect those important to you...as best you can."

The hero plumber looked up at the sky, which was darker than ever, bright red lightning streaking along the clouds, followed by distorted rolls of thunder. It made him wonder if perhaps the witch had heard them and now she was furious.

"Oh..." Mario voiced, "to the castle!"

He then turned in the opposite direction to head for Princess Peach's castle.

* * *

All righty, another chapter done.


End file.
